Two charged in gang-related shooting that killed bystander in Canoga Park

Two alleged members of a Northridge-area gang were charged with murder and attempted murder Thursday in the Oct. 6 shooting death of Eduardo Rebolledo-Ramirez, who was sitting in his pickup preparing to drive home from work.

Young people disturbed about the shooting have organized a March for Peace on Saturday to support Rebolledo-Ramirez and his family and to decry violence in their community, said Michelle Miranda, president of the Alliance for Community Empowerment, which is organizing the event.

The march is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. near the shooting scene, at the intersection of Eton Avenue and Sherman Way.

“Our students were pretty upset about the shooting happening in our area,” Miranda said. “They were thinking that the victim could have been any one of them. They’re trying to find ways for their voices to be heard, and to let the community know they hurt and they don’t want this for their community.”

Ariel Baker Paniagua Jr., 22, of Canoga Park, and Hubaldo Martinez, 23, of Northridge, allegedly members of the Bryant Street gang, pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of murder and shooting at an occupied motor vehicle and three counts of attempted, willful, deliberate and premeditated murder, according to Ricardo Santiago, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

The two are accused of driving behind a car carrying three Canoga Park gang members and shooting at the car about 5:50 p.m. Oct. 6 in the 7200 block of Eton Avenue, just north of Sherman Way.

One of the bullets went astray and struck Rebolledo-Ramirez as he was warming up his truck to drive home from his job at an air conditioning shop across the street from where he was shot, said Los Angeles Police Det. David Peteque, who investigated the case.

Paniagua was also charged with another count of shooting at an occupied vehicle, discharging a firearm with gross negligence and being a felon in possession of a firearm, in connection with another shooting on Oct. 13.

Peteque said investigators were looking for Paniagua in connection with Oct. 6 shooting when they received a report about shots being fired about 11:41 a.m. at Owensmouth Boulevard near Cohasset Street in Canoga Park, near Paniagua’s house. When they arrived, witnesses said a man matching Paniagua’s description pulled out a gun and shot at a vehicle as it drove past.

The officers found Paniagua hiding in the doorway of a nearby apartment complex and arrested him on suspicion of both incidents, Peteque said. Investigators have not found anyone who was injured in the second shooting, Peteque said.

Investigators also arrested a 24-year-old woman in connection with the Oct. 6 shooting, but prosecutors declined to file charges against her, said spokesman Santiago. The woman allegedly had been riding in the car with Paniagua and Martinez when they were shooting at the rival gang members.

Martinez and Paniagua are scheduled to return to Los Angeles County Superior Court in Van Nuys on Oct. 27 for a preliminary hearing. Bail was set for $5.3 million for Paniagua and $5 million for Martinez.

Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to call Peteque at (818) 756-4869. Those wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.